In the US, too, people keep their money together.
They increased their spending in July by just 0.1 percent from the previous month, the Commerce Department said on Friday in Washington.
Economists surveyed by Reuters, on the other hand, were right with an increase of 0.4 percent, after growth in June of a revised 1.0 percent.
Consumer spending is the backbone of the US economy, accounting for more than two-thirds of gross domestic product.
However, this has recently shrunk for two quarters in a row, which means that the USA is in a so-called technical recession.
The financial markets are concerned that the US Federal Reserve could take an aggressive stance in the fight against rampant inflation and ultimately trigger a full-blown recession - that is, a broad-based economic downturn.
The Fed is under pressure with its interest rate policy, since the sharply rising prices are eroding the purchasing power of Americans.
Easing on the inflation front
On the inflation front, however, the data show some easing.
Consumer prices increased by 8.5 percent in July.
A measure of inflation that the US Federal Reserve also takes into account in its monetary policy is consumers' personal spending.
This excludes food and energy costs, which fluctuate greatly.
This so-called PCE core index shows an annual inflation rate of 4.6 percent for July.
In June it was 4.8 percent.
Experts polled by Reuters had only expected a decline to 4.7 percent for July.
The euro surged to a daily high after the release of the data, trading at $1.0030.
In the morning, the euro was still below par.
Despite the looming threat of recession, the Fed recently raised the key interest rate sharply in the fight against inflation - by 0.75 percentage points to the new range of 2.25 to 2.50 percent.
Investors hoped for information about the further interest rate course from the appearance of Fed boss Jerome Powell at the central bank symposium in Jackson Hole in the afternoon.